Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Oct-Dec;11(4):402-407.
doi: 10.4103/sja.SJA_230_17.

Epidemiology and characteristics of nosocomial infections in critically ill patients in a tertiary care Intensive Care Unit of Northern India

Anirban Hom Choudhuri  1 , Mitali Chakravarty  1 , Rajeev Uppal  1
Affiliations

Epidemiology and characteristics of nosocomial infections in critically ill patients in a tertiary care Intensive Care Unit of Northern India

Anirban Hom Choudhuri et al. Saudi J Anaesth. 2017 Oct-Dec.

Abstract

Background and aims: The prevalence of nosocomial infection is higher in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) than other areas of the hospital. The present observational study was undertaken to describe the epidemiology and characteristics of nosocomial infections acquired in a tertiary care ICU and the impact of the various risk factors in their causation.

Materials and methods: A retrospective study was conducted on the prospectively collected data of 153 consecutive patients admitted in a tertiary care ICU between July 2014 and December 2015. The primary objective was to assess the epidemiology of ICU-acquired bacterial infections in terms of the incidence of new infections, causative organism, and site. The secondary end point was to assess the risk factors for developing ICU-acquired infections.

Results: Out of the 153 patients enrolled in the study, 87 had an ICU-acquired nosocomial infection (58.86%). The most common organism responsible for infection was Klebsiella pneumoniae (37%), and the most common infection was pneumonia (33%). The duration of mechanical ventilation and length of ICU stay were significantly prolonged in patients developing nosocomial infections. There was no difference in mortality between the groups. The multivariate analyses identified intubation longer than 7 days, urinary catheterization >7 days, duration of mechanical ventilation more than 7 days, and ICU length of stay longer than 7 days as independent risk factors for nosocomial infections.

Conclusion: The study demonstrated a high incidence of nosocomial infection in the ICU and identified the risk factors for acquisition of nosocomial infections in the ICU.

Keywords: Critically ill; ICU; nosocomial infection.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Distribution of enrolled patients
Figure 2
Figure 2
Organisms responsible for causing nosocomial infections in the Intensive Care Unit
Figure 3
Figure 3
Distribution of nosocomial infection
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. WHO. Report on the Burden of Endemic Health Care – Associated Infection Worldwide: A System Review of the Literature. 2011. [Last accessed on 2016 Oct 14]. Available from: http://www.apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/80135/1/9789241501507_eng.pdf .
    1. Allegranzi B, Bagheri Nejad S, Combescure C, Graafmans W, Attar H, Donaldson L, et al. Burden of endemic health-care-associated infection in developing countries: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet. 2011;377:228–41. - PubMed
    1. Magill SS, Edwards JR, Bamberg W, Beldavs ZG, Dumyati G, Kainer MA, et al. Multistate point-prevalence survey of health care-associated infections. N Engl J Med. 2014;370:1198–208. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Richards MJ, Edwards JR, Culver DH, Gaynes RP. Nosocomial infections in combined medical-surgical Intensive Care Units in the United States. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2000;21:510–5. - PubMed
    1. NNIS System. National Nosocomial Infections Surveillance (NNIS) System Report, data summary from January 1992 through June 2003, issued August 2003. Am J Infect Control. 2003;31:481–98. - PubMed